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Inside the life of Paul O’Grady who broke TV contract to adopt pup while filming ‘For the love of dogs'

TV presenter and comedian Paul O'Grady who was known for his drag queen persona Lily Savage died on March 28

LONDON, ENGLAND: TV presenter and comedian Paul O'Grady who was known for his drag queen persona Lily Savage died at 67 on Tuesday evening, March 28. His partner Andre Portasio, who married O'Grady in the summer of 2017, confirmed the news of the comedian's death, who became "really ill" after getting long Covid in July 2022, and said, “It is with great sadness that I inform you that Paul has passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening," and added, "He will be greatly missed by his loved ones, friends, family, animals and all those who enjoyed his humour, wit and compassion.”

Following the news, tributes started pouring in. ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly described O’Grady as “a really special man” as she tweeted, "Such sad news. Paul O’Grady - funny, fearless, brave, kind and wise. Will be sorely missed. A really special man." While GMB's Charlotte Hawkins wrote, "Oh no, such sad news to wake up to that the magnificent Paul O’Grady has died at the age of 67. What a warm-hearted, hugely talented and funny man he was. Plus a dog lover of course, with his brilliant show @RealPOGDogs supporting @Battersea_. Such a loss & gone too young."

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Who was Paul O'Grady?

During his career, O’Grady, who was born in Birkenhead, on the Wirral, Merseyside, hosted ‘The Paul O’Grady Show’, ‘Blind Date', ‘Blankety Blank’, and also took on chat show 'The Lily Savage Show' for the BBC for a short run in 1997. But it was ITV’s multi-award-winning ‘For The Love Of Dogs’, which he hosted since 2012, that shot him to fame. During this, he was also joined by Camilla, Queen Consort of the UK, in a special one-off episode of 'For The Love Of Dogs' to mark 160 years of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, an organization for which he was an ambassador. But it was also his love and charity for aminals that made him popular among fans.

In February 2022, he broke his TV contract to adopt a wire-haired dachshund named Sausage, from Battersea Cats & Dogs Home. He opened up about the clause in his contract back in 2012 that didn't allow him to take home any dogs during filming. He said, as stated by Evening Standard, "It went in my contract - under no circumstances was I allowed to go home with anything: two-legged, four-legged, three-legged, anything.”

Sharing the happy news of adoption in 2022, he wrote on Instagram, while sharing the picture with Sausage, "In tonight’s episode I take this hairy little monster home. She’s called Sausage which isn’t very original but it doesn’t matter as she can’t understand a word of English except for ‘biscuit.’ She gets on with all the others except for Conchita who simply ignores her but Nancy loves her and together they’re a right pair of hooligans. So far Sausage has eaten her way through a couple of dog beds, an armchair, endless pairs of socks and shoes and the stair carpet but she’s the friendliest dog on the planet so what’s a pair of shoes between friends?"

How many dogs did Paul O'Grady have?

He had five of them — Nancy, a Jack Russell breed; Arfur, who is a Jack Russell-Papillon cross; Conchita, a Maltese breed; Eddie, who is a Chihuahua-Jack Russell cross, and Sausage. O'Grady also had Buster, a rescue Shih Tzu-Bichon Frise cross, who died in November 2009 due to cancer. Buster was known to his fans as he used to appear on 'The Paul O'Grady show.' Following Buster's demise, O'Grady dedicated the second volume of his autobiography to Buster, tagging him as "The greatest canine star since Lassie." He also had Olga, a Cairn Terrier cross, who passed away in 2018.

He won Outstanding Contribution to Animal Welfare

O'Grady lived in Kent alongside his beloved dogs and farm animals, which ranged from pigs to sheep, chickens to alpacas, and even owls. He was also known as a supporter of many animal charities, apart from supporting LGBTQ+ issues, like Save the Children, Orangutan Appeal UK, and Wildlife SOS, among others, reports Echo. According to Independent, in September 2016, he won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Animal Welfare at the RSPCA’s Animal Hero Awards for his work.

According to IdolNetWorth, via Express, O'Grady had a net worth of $8 million. As per the outlet, 'The Paul O’Grady Show, which was first aired in 2004, had 2.6 million viewers a day on videos of celebrity interviews by O'Grady.